The far walls of the second and third floors of the children’s section of the Evanston Public Library are filled with framed children’s book covers whose stories have not yet been written.
Each of the 75 original paintings, drawings and sketches is accompanied by a description of what the illustrator envisioned for the story – but the story itself is left up to the imagination of the viewer.
These book covers comprise a new exhibit co-sponsored by the EPL and the Northwestern University Library called “An Imaginary Library,” open since October 9 for a three-month stay.
The exhibit – visibly international, visually striking, and varied in style and content, presents children’s books in an exciting and open-ended way and is the first of its kind in the Evanston library.
Original story
Jeff Garrett, the Northwestern University special collections librarian who helped bring the exhibit to Evanston, will present a lecture on the exhibit with a tour and reception to follow at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15, at the EPL.